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Monday, January 18, 2016

Day 15 - (1/18/16) - Quartzsite, AZ to "The Slabs", CA

What a beautiful sunrise and a great way to end my rainless warm days but cool to cold at night stay in the desert.

Adventures await.

My first stop is at McDonalds in Quartzsite before heading west on I10.

Thanks to my sister in-law for this McDonalds cars I got as a present.

Then with downloads in my iPhone I was on my way into California and the agricultural inspection entering the state and a stop in Blythe for fresh fruit before heading over to the Salton Sea.

My choice of route is through the farmland south of Blythe over some hills to the Imperial Vally. The Imprtial Valley is very important agricultural supplier of fresh vegetables in the US. Think of Foxy Lettuce and you will get the idea.

I pass the northern part of the Imperial Sand Dunes, it is very popular for four-wheeling

Then I come down into the Imperial Vally that is very flat and farms and the horizon go on forever.

I eventually turn north to the Salton Sea. I will post separately about the Salton Sea.

After checking out 2 places to camp at the Salton Sea for free and not particularly liking them I head over to my next destination, Slab City for a dose of eclectic art and culture that I will try to put into context more in other blog postings.

Let me leave you with this. I was told by more people not to go than to go. Some felt that in reading about "The Slabs" online that it was dangerous, possibly lawless, and trashy.

Well it's not inherently dangerous and not lawless and it is trashy in spots. It does have an image of what life may be like post apocalyptic, but it's not even that. It is counter culture and more on this in my other posts.

About Me

I retired from as
Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director for the Town of Westminster in
2014.Growing up I became an on-call
firefighter and continued in the Fire Department while I kept a full-time
career in high tech, eventually becoming the full-time Fire Chief in 1998, with
the downturn in the tech sector.

I have been
fortunate to have had many wonderful experiences working in the private sector
before my full-time employment before becoming Fire Chief/EMD. This
included being an Electronic Technician, and Manufacturing engineer for Bowmar/ALI,
Inc. Leominster/Acton MA, National Service Manager for Bruel and Kjaer
Instruments, Inc., Marlborough, MA, and Engineering Coordinator,
Manufacturing Project Manager, Group Manager, and Program Manager for Digital
Equipment Corporation/Compaq Computer Corporation, various locations in MA&
NH.

I continue to
teach Fire Science Degree Programs at Mount Wachusett Community College,
Gardner, MA, where I have been an Adjunct Professor since 2000.

I have received
degrees at the following institutions:

Lesley College; Masters of
Science in Management, January 1984

Fitchburg State College; Bachelor of Science in History, June 1979

Mount
Wachusett Community College; Associate in Electronic Engineering, June 1977.